Locals have heard her on NPR’s All Things Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts, St. Paul Sunday Morning, and Performance Today. This February 3 brings the opportunity to hear Grammy Nominated harpist Yolanda Kondonassis live. She solos for Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s Harp Concerto with the San Luis Obispo Symphony led by Music Director Andrew Sewell. The program also includes Haydn’s last symphony (his “London” Symphony No. 104) and Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor Overture. The concert is at 8:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo. Former KSBY news anchor Dan Shadwell hosts Sewell in the pre-concert talk at 7:00 p.m. Tickets range from $20-$80 and are available at PACSLO.org or 805-756-4849.
YOLANDA KONDONASSIS
Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. With “a range of colour that’s breathtaking” (Gramophone), she has been hailed as “a brilliant and expressive player” (Dallas Morning News), with “a dazzling technique unfailingly governed by impeccable musical judgment” (Detroit News). She has appeared around the globe as a concerto soloist and in recital, bringing her unique brand of musicianship and warm artistry to an ever-increasing audience. Also a published author, speaker, professor of harp, and environmental activist, her many passions are woven into a vibrant and multi-faceted career.
With hundreds of thousands of discs and downloads sold worldwide, Kondonassis’ extensive discography includes twenty titles and her 2008 release, Air (Telarc), was nominated for a Grammy Award. Her latest album, Ginastera: One Hundred, celebrates Ginastera’s 2016 centennial and was released in October 2016 on Oberlin Music. Her many albums have earned universal critical praise as she continues to be a pioneering force in the harp world, striving to push the boundaries of what listeners expect of the harp.
The recipient of two Solo Recitalists Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and a 2011 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize, Kondonassis has been featured on NPR, CNN and PBS as well as Sirius/XM Radio’s Symphony Hall. In addition to her active solo, chamber music and recording schedule, Kondonassis heads the harp departments at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Cleveland Institute of Music, and presents masterclasses around the world.
To read concert notes and listen to the music, visit the concert page at: https://www.slosymphony.org/concert/classics-cohan-3
About the San Luis Obispo Symphony
For over 50 years, the San Luis Obispo Symphony has enhanced the county’s cultural landscape across the county. The orchestra’s Classics in the Cohan series is an anchor for the city’s state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center. The chamber series takes place in the region’s many scenic communities. Special occasion pops concerts augment celebrations for people of all ages far and wide. Hundreds of school children attend free concerts that introduce them to orchestral music as part of the Performing Arts Center’s Matinee program. The
San Luis Obispo Symphony’s Youth Orchestra builds the foundation for a lifelong involvement in music, starting with ensembles for very young players — Super Bows — and progressing through the intermediate Preparatory Strings and Academy String Orchestra. The most advanced ensembles are Symphonic Winds and Concert Orchestra, which claims notable alumni, including musicians that now play in the San Luis Obispo Symphony. Encounters with classical music and instruments are accessible for everyone with the Symphony’s traveling petting zoo and music van. Boosting classroom education, San Luis Obispo Symphony-trained teachers provide after-school beginning string programs for kids where music education is in short supply during the school day. For more, visit www.slosymphony.org